ARTSBEAT; 'Mad Men' Is Set To Return on March 25

By DAVE ITZKOFF

Published: January 16, 2012

Jon Hamm has been a bad boy, and not just in his scenes in ''Bridesmaids.'' A few days ago Mr. Hamm let it slip in a podcast interview that the long-awaited season premiere of ''Mad Men,'' the AMC period drama on which he plays the advertising executive Don Draper, would be shown on March 25. Though a few days of radio silence from the network followed Mr. Hamm can now wipe those beads of sweat from his Brylcreemed brow: AMC has confirmed the news, announcing over the weekend that Season 5 of ''Mad Men'' would begin on that date, with a two-hour episode written by the series' creator, Matthew Weiner, and directed by Jennifer Getzinger, who directed the episode ''The Suitcase'' last season.

For fans of ''Mad Men'' this premiere has been a long time coming. The previous season concluded more than a year ago, on Oct. 17, 2010, and while new episodes typically start in the summer, production on Season 5 was delayed by a lengthy contract renegotiation involving Mr. Weiner, AMC and Lionsgate, the studio that produces the series. At the end of that process AMC announced that it had renewed ''Mad Men'' through Season 7, which Mr. Weiner said would be the show's last.

Additionally, AMC said over the weekend that Season 2 of its crime drama ''The Killing'' would begin on April 1, following an ambiguous and controversial Season 1 finale in June. Also, the network said that the third season of its hit zombie series, ''The Walking Dead,'' would be 16 episodes long; the show is currently in the middle of a 13-episode second season, and its debut season in 2010 was 6 episodes.

An earlier version of this post misidentified the director of the season premiere of ''Mad Men.'' Jon Hamm will direct the second episode, on April 1, not the premiere.

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.